JOHNSON MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW AT FULTON SPEEDWAY
FULTON, NY.....Alan Johnson made a strong charge to the lead in a DIRT 358 Modified feature that had only one yellow flag and held off a strong bid by Mitch Gibbs in the final laps to score his second consecutive win in the 358 Modified division at Fulton Speedway on NGK Spark Plugs/Raymond's Car Care Center Night. Ron Richardson returned to victory lane in the Sportsman while Bill Shantel Jr. got his first Fulton win in the Pure Stocks and Dave Mannise held off all comers for his first win of the year in the Pure Stock division.
After a scramble in the first couple of laps for the lead and a brief yellow for a spin by John Ventura, the 35-lap Modified feature event went non-stop to the checkered flag. Rick Miller and Ty Hunt each took turns at the front of the field while Alan Johnson and Mitch Gibbs hooked up on the outside lane to come from mid pack to move into the top five. Steve Hulszier locked himself in a fierce battle for position with John Barker until Barker's car encountered a problem and he pulled off the track in turn three.
As Johnson and Burley battled their way toward leader Hunt, Mitch Gibbs was steadily moving up behind them. Johnson caught Hunt first and was able to slip under him in turn two to grab the lead, with Burley moving past into second a few laps later. Traffic became heavier for the race leader, which allowed Burley and Gibbs to close in quickly.
In the last ten laps, Gibbs powered around Burley for the second spot and started to chase down Johnson. Lapped traffic again came into play, which allowed Gibbs to close within one car length of the leader with two laps to go. Johnson and Gibbs thrilled the crowd as they fought amongst the lapped cars for the lead. Gibbs tried high and low in the last laps, but Johnson held him off, and coming off the final corner kept Gibbs at bay by just one car length as the checkers flew. Gibbs had to settle for the second spot, followed by Burley in third. Tom Kinsella made two passes in the last lap to get by JJ Michales and Jimmy Phelps to move into the fourth spot, with Phelps rounding out the top five. Modified heats were won by Miller, Burley, and Roger Phelps.
The 20-lap Sportsman feature saw Ron Davis and Jim LaRock battle it out heavily for the early lead, swapping the top spot back and forth a few times. Coming up strong from the pack was Ron Richardson, who moved up on the leaders, racing them three wide on several occasions. It was a split by Richardson of the leaders that became the key move of the race, as Richardson was able to scoot into the lead.
Bad luck arose for point leader Tony Buffa, who was coming through the pack strongly when he slid off the track in turn three and made heavy contact with one of the infield tire markers. The impact did heavy damage to Buffa's car and left the driver shaken up. When action resumed after the Buffa incident, Richardson maintained his advantage running the outside lane of the speedway and held it to the finish. Tim Sears moved into the second spot, followed by John Cuningham, Greg Doust, and Jim Bowman. Sportsman heats were won by Willy Decker, Tim Johnson, and Richardson.
The 20-lap Pro Stock feature was another great race that saw Bill Shantel Jr. jump into the early lead with Jerry Holmes breaking free of the pack to chase after him. Behind them, Rick Breed, Mike Watkins, Jason Rood, and John Cooper had a spirited battle as they traded positions running two and three wide. The first caution of the feature didn't come until lap 9, and on the restart, Holmes was able to power under Shantel and actually held the lead for one lap. However, Shantel stuck to his guns on the outside lane and was able to move back on to the point just one lap later.
In the second half of the feature, Ray Maloney turned up the wick and began to charge around the outside lane, passing at least a car each lap. Maloney found himself in the second position, some distance back from the leader, when the second and final yellow flag of the race flew on lap 18. The stage was set for a two-lap shootout. Shantel maintained the high lane while Maloney worked on the low side. On the final lap, Maloney twice got a wheel under Shantel, but the young driver held off the challenges and took the win by just half a car length at the line. Maloney had to settle for a very close second spot, followed by Breed, Cooper and Watkins. Pro Stock heats were won by Shantel Jr. and Holmes.
The 15-lap Pure Stock feature began with Dave Mannise and Lou Levea battling for position until some heavy smoke billowed out of the Levea car. Levea took a trip to the pits but returned later. Chad Ray and Darren Kelso battled heavily for the second spot, but neither of them could catch Mannise, who took his first win of the year. Ray held off Kelso for second, followed by John Eiss and Don Stevenson. Pure Stock heats were won by Mannise and Levea.
Next Saturday night the ELS Sprints join the program along with motorcycle stuntman Sky Lungston, who will attempt to set a world record with a motorcycle jump over 17 cars...with no landing ramp. Gates will open at 5pm and racing starts at 7pm.
RACE SUMMARY-NGK SPARK PLUS/RAYMOND'S CAR CARE CENTER NIGHT
FULTON SPEEDWAY-JULY 17, 1999
DIRT 358 MODIFIED FEATURE-ALAN JOHNSON, Mitch Gibbs, Todd Burley, Tom Kinsella, Steve Hulsizer, Jim Phelps, JJ Michaels, Gus Schmidt, Dale Planck, Gil Tegg, Ty Hunt, Dave House, Doug Fuller, Jeff Rudalavage, Roger Phelps, Pete Taylor, Tim Burnett, John Ventura, Roy Shields, Ryan Baye, Jay Hopkins, Rick Miller, Pat Lynch, Tim Vincent, Jason Barney, John Barker, Tom Sears.
SPORTSMAN FEATURE-RON RICHARDSON, Tim Sears, John Cunnigham, Greg Doust, Jim Bowman, Jim LaRock, Ron Davis, Bill Shantel Sr., Dave Bargabus, Willy Decker, Jeremy Pitcher, Mark Yorker, Clayton Brewer, Russ Hefti, Rich Keller, Dan Vail, Steve Nasholts, Dean Bower, Cliff West, Walt McArdell, Tim Johnson, Tony Buffa, Matt Chapman, Terry Knoblauch, Paul Benz, Greg Carner, Paul Streiff.
PRO STOCK FEATURE-BILL SHANTEL JR., Ray Maloney, Rick Breed, John Cooper, Mike Watkins, Jason Rood, Dave Moyer, John Pietrowicz, Bruce Hovis, Randy Coit, Jerry Holmes, Gerry Newman, Dave Fox, Dan Winks, TJ Fitzgibbons, Pat Hobbs, Mike Dickquist, Tim Harris, Chuck Thomas.
PURE STOCK FEATURE-DAVE MANNISE, Chad Ray, Darren Kelso, John Eiss, Don Stevenson, Kevin Raymond, Scott Grevelding, Joe Reeves, Ken Connors, Tom Donahue, Marty Collmer, Dan Butterfield, Gary Barton, Lou Levea, Bruce Stanton, Phil Trim, Rob Seavy, George Wright, Ken Wentworth.